Ombudsman: 79 flood control-related cases filed in courts

The Office of the Ombudsman has filed with Philippine courts 79 criminal cases related to the multi-billion peso flood control corruption scandal, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said Friday.

Remulla said that of this number, 75 were filed with the Sandiganbayan while the other four with local courts.

"The ongoing flood control charges include two plunder [cases] which is non-bailable, 22 cases of malversation of public funds, which is also non-bailable because the amount [involved] is above P8.8 million, and 55 violations of Republic Act 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act," Remulla said in a press conference.

"For flood control, [the amount of projects involved in cases pending] before the court now is P10.78 billion. Remember, there's a much bigger amount involved, but we are working with the evidence that we have so far," Remulla added.

Out of the 79 cases, 67 persons are accused, including the following:

• 1 senator
• 1 former senator
• 4 congressmen
• 1 former congressman
• 1 former secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)
• 39 DPWH personnel
• 9 contractors
• 2 congressional staff
• 9 private individuals

Further, Remulla said Ombudsman prosecutors have filed 57 non-flood control cases involving 138 respondents.

These 57 cases, Remulla said, involve P13 billion worth of public funds.

The 138 respondents in non-flood control cases include:

• 78 elected officials
• 42 DPWH personnel
• 9 contractors
• 9 private individuals

"What are the schemes of corruption they are doing? In right-of-way [cases], they fake or falsify land ownership and supporting documents to claim government compensation for right-of-way. These are the ones affected by public infrastructure. Outdated property valuations are also used to inflate compensation claims," Remulla said.

"There are also ghost projects that come out, [the] withdrawing or spending public funds for projects that supposedly do not exist, or releasing funds without the required disbursement vouchers, receipts and other supporting documents," Remulla added. — VDV, GMA News